Putin: Russia Needs to Work with the Taliban

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a meeting of a security bloc led by China and Russia that Russia needs to work with the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

Speaking via video at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Putin added that Russia supports the United Nations conference to be held on Afghanistan and that the world powers should consider unfreezing Afghanistan's assets.

This is an interim government, as the Taliban themselves say, and it cannot be really considered all-inclusive, the Russian President further stressed.

Putin went on to say that it would be optimal to foster a dialogue with Afghanistan and that work to this end is already in progress.

Earlier, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov affirmed that Russia would not be imposing any conditions on the Taliban. However, it will observe how the group would fulfill their pledges.

The Russian top official also asserted that no one is in a hurry to officially recognize the Taliban, adding that it's still too early to reach conclusions regarding the new government.